While we've discussed a few of VLC 1.1's upcoming features already, it seems a new one has slipped out with the release candidate: WebM support. We haven't talked much about WebM around here, but with the rising popularity of the efficient, easy-to-stream H.264, many have longed for a more open alternative. Companies like Mozilla would rather support open development, and don't want to pay the royalties to support H.264, so they (as well as other companies like Google) have gotten behind the WebM project, which allows for many of the same benefits but using open standards.

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What does this mean for you and VLC practically? With all the support its garnered from large companies like Mozilla, Opera, Google, and Adobe, it means that you may very well be watching your HD video in a different format, and VLC is helping you stay ahead of the game by continuing their tradition of playing any format you can imagine.

The developers are also touting this version as faster and more stable than the current VLC 1.0.5. The release candidate includes web plug-ins for most browsers, too, so you won't be losing any functionality by installing this over 1.0.5. And, if you've been itching to try out a more stable version of the previously mentioned hardware acceleration and extensions, now is a good time to give it a go. You can also check out the full changelog here.

VLC 1.1 RC is a free download for Windows only. VLC is available for Mac and Linux, but the release candidate is not yet available for those platforms. UPDATE: You can download Mac nightly builds of 1.1 here, though do so at your own risk as they are likely less stable than the official Windows RC.